Lila's Story
by Alyce Reide
Summary: A canon-compliant (up to Puppeteer 2) backstory for Lila, going from 10-12 years in the show's past to 5-6 years in its future.
1. Lila

**A:N: This started partly as a random idea...**_**hey, why is Lila so mean to Marinette? Why does she lie so much?**_**...and partly as a writing exercise. I don't like Lila one bit. I know someone in real life who reminds me of Lila, and this person is in complete control of someone I love, making them extremely miserable- yet this person completely trusts "Lila". Don't defend Miraculous Lila to me. At only 14, she's learned how to manipulate and hurt. That is never a good thing.**

**That being said, Chris Colfer said that a villain is a victim whose story hasn't been told. I don't like Lila, but I'd like to understand her. And it would be useful to be able to write from the perspective of a character I detest. Hence...this story.**

**Speaking of which, if enough people like this story, it will become the first in a Miraculous Backstory Series. I have no idea how this first one will be received, and I've already decided there will only be more backstories if people like this one, yet my brain has already come up with several ideas.**

**And finally, I have a question, mainly for everyone who both hates Marinette and loves Lila, but also if it's one or the other for you: Why? If you don't like Marinette, why did you watch until Lila came in? Over half the show is about Marinette. So...why? I won't judge you for your answer. I don't care if you answer, though I would appreciate it if someone would satisfy my curiosity. How do you even know about Lila if she's in a show about someone you hate?**

* * *

Lila

* * *

Lila Rossi is beautiful.

Lila Rossi is talented.

Lila Rossi is creative.

Lila Rossi is a liar.

Lila Rossi is in prison for attempted murder.

She says she didn't do it.

She says she's innocent.

She says she was akumatized.

She says it was Hawk Moth's fault.

She says Ladybug's alive, and that's all that matters.

But Ladybug knows what she saw.

Ladybug knows Lila wasn't akumatized.

Ladybug knows Lila hates her.

Paris knows Ladybug never lies.

Paris knows Lila often does.

Paris trusts Ladybug.

Paris believed Ladybug over Lila.

Lila wasn't lying.


	2. First Lie

**A/N: Act I, scene I. Constructive criticism much appreciated!**

**Thanks to everyone who's followed/favorited! Let me know which part was your favorite?**

**Disclaimer: Characters you recognize are not owned by** _**moi**_**. Everyone else is. Kinda.**

* * *

First Lie

* * *

Lila Rossi was three years old when she told her first lie.

"My daddy could beat up your daddy," a little boy said to another boy. "And so can I beat you up!" The bigger boy advanced on the smaller one.

Lila marched up to the two boys, three and _four_. "_My_ daddy is bigger than either of _your_ daddies," she told them. "My daddy could beat up your daddy with no trying, because my daddy is a superhero. An' he teached me super stuff, an' I'll beat you up if you don't stop being mean."

Lila Rossi had never met her father.

The two boys looked stunned. Probably from Lila's big words and her super dad, she thought smugly.

The four-year-old looked at Lila worshipfully. "Can you teach me super stuff?" he whispered.

Lila looked down her nose at him. "Maybe. If you're nice. An' you gotta be my friend. Deal?"

"Okay!"

Lila didn't know how she would teach her new 'friend' "super stuff". As a big girl of three, she knew she didn't have a superhero daddy just because she said so.

She didn't know what her new friend, Carlo, would do if he found out she'd lied to him, but she knew it would involve not being her friend any more. She didn't want that. She wanted Carlo to like her.

So Lila lied again.

"Daddy said I can't teach super stuff yet, because three isn't old enough to teach."

"Daddy's never home because he's a superhero all over the world, not just in Italy. He has to travel everywhere to fight all the bad guys."

"You can't ever tell anyone my daddy's a superhero. Daddy says that if anyone knows, they might take me away to be mean to him."

"Daddy says he's getting me a pony for my fourth birthday."

"You don't have a daddy," Carlo interrupted. "My mommy says you never had a daddy. She says you're lying. Mommy says we can't be friends any more, because I'm not allowed to be friends with a liar."

Lila's eyes filled with tears. She'd lost her one friend, just like she'd feared. She was right. Carlo found out she was lying, and now he wasn't her friend.

Another little girl might have decided that it was because of her lies she'd lost her friend.

Lila knew better. It was the _truth_ that had cost her Carlo.

* * *

_And the truth that cost her _freedom_. No one wants to know they've been duped, and powerful men will go to great lengths to pretend they're still in control._

* * *

**A/N: There's this poll on my profile. It contains all my stories I've posted so far, plus some. I'd like to see at least one vote for **_**Lila's Story**_ **before I post the next chapter, if you would oblige?**


	3. Almost Happy

**A/N: Whoever voted for_ Lila's Story_ on the poll, this is for yyou**

**I don't like writing antiheroes. I always have this compulsion to make them more likeable, more heroic...and to give the story a HEA. My brain keeps trying to do that here, and I keep having to remind it that we want Kid Lila to turn into Canon Lila, not AU Lila.**

**Disclaimer: Everyone but Lila is mine.**

* * *

Almost Happy

* * *

Lila glared at the car door, kicking her feet against the seat. She didn't want to go to kindergarten!

"Stop kicking the seat, Lila," her mother said. "I swear…" The car stopped, and Lila's mother opened the door and unbuckled Lila, lifting her out of the car. "I've got to rush, but you'll like your teacher. Have a great day, sweetie! Make some friends!"

Lila scowled darkly at the ground. She heard footsteps, and smiled before looking up. Grown-ups hated it when kids looked mad. Lila didn't know how many times she'd gotten in trouble just for that.

"You must be Lila Rossi." A pretty black-haired lady held out her hand to Lila. "I'm Juliette. Come on. Let's go inside. You'll have lots of fun at kindergarten, you'll see!"

Lila took Juliette's hand. "Are you sure?"

Juliette just laughed in that way grown-ups laughed when they thought a kid had said something stupid.

Lila glared down at the floor, imagining that she had laser vision and was melting Juliette's pigtails off.

* * *

"Why don't we all introduce ourselves?" Juliette suggested.

A brunette girl bounced in her seat. "I'm Arianna. My family moved here from the United States when I was two. My grandparents live in Texas, and they have horses. I visit them every summer."

A boy with green marker in his red hair was the next to go. "My name's Jared. I really like superheroes and drawing, but I don't like crayons."

"I'm Kiya. My granddaddy is a samurai from Japan. He gave me swords for my fifth birthday!"

"I'm Dario. And I can cook eggs, and hot chocolish, and persketti, and pizza, and I've been to the Leaning Tower of Pizza _three_ times, and my favorite color is blue, and mommy says I talk too much but she loves me anyway, and I got a new shirt yesterday and this is it."

"My name is Lila," said Lila. "I have a pony all my own who lives in my backyard. I've been to France, and Spain, and Germany, and America, and China. I live in a different country every year. And I have laser vision, but only when I get really mad."

"Ooo, get mad!" Kiya said. "I want to see laser vision!"

Lila gave the class her sunniest smile. "I'm too happy about alla my new friends to get mad!"

"Aww." Juliette smiled at Lila. "You're so sweet, Lila!"

Lila almost felt happy.

Almost.

* * *

_She hated her life. She hated everything. Hate was all that kept her alive now, and she needed her hatred. Love made you weak. Hate made you strong. Fear- others' fear- made you strong._

* * *

**A/N: Agh! I'm starting to feel sorry for Lila! Now my brain will try even harder to make her nice instead of canon!**


	4. France

**A/N: For Ashley-A Anderson, Bunnix, and Bella2be.**

* * *

Lila moved around a lot. That was always true. And none of her "friends" ever tried emailing her, or calling her, or even sending letters! They just forgot about her. So she always needed new friends.

Halfway through fourth grade in Portugal, she discovered the best way to make people like you fast: You promise them something, even if you can't give it to them. After all, if you're just going to leave in a few months, they'll never know.

"I can get you horseback riding lessons," she said to that girl who liked horses. Stupid thing; didn't she know horses were just animals like any other?

"I can introduce you to my uncle's literary agent," she told the boy already writing his first book. It would fail, of course. No one would read something dreamt up by a nine-year-old!

"I was in a movie," she told her class. But she never told them what it was called.

"I have Brittle Bone disease," she said to get out of P. E. No one brought up her supposed circus stint as a six-year-old, or her (nonexistent) recent skydiving instruction.

They swallowed everything she fed them, so long as she didn't tell them too much. If anyone started to question something she said, well that wasn't too hard to take care of once she hit on the right wording, was it?

"Miss, Serafina is bullying me!" A few of those crocodile tears she'd practiced after the fiasco in Mexico, and everyone bought it except Serafina.

"Miss, I did nothing of the sort! Lila's lying."

People liked Serafina. Lila wailed louder.

"Enough!" the teacher cried. "Serafina, Lila, hug it out. Nobody is lying, there's just a misunderstanding. You will both stay after class and talk it out."

Lila let her lip wobble, and looked up at the teacher with puppy-dog eyes.

Serafina scowled, but held out her arms to Lila.

Lila embraced the other girl, putting her chin on Serafina's shoulder. "You'll leave me alone from now on," she whisper-hissed, "or I'll make your life miserable. Your 'friends' will hate you by tomorrow if I tell them what you did to me."

"I didn't do anything!" Serafina whispered back furiously.

"Who do you think they'll believe?" When Lila stepped back, Serafina wouldn't look anywhere but the floor. _Good girl_.

Serafina didn't bother Lila again. But when Lila transferred, none of her 'friends' so much as texted "hi" after a week.

* * *

"Mama!" Lila cried. "I can't transfer in the middle of the school year!"

_It'll be harder to make people like me if they've already formed cliques_, she meant.

Signora Rossi put what was meant to be a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Mia Bella, I'm so sorry. But we have to! Unless you'd rather live with your grandmother?"

Nana was kind, but strict, and oh so very Catholic. She didn't buy Lila's lies like everyone else did. "No, I'd miss you too much."

"Then it's settled," Lila's mother said. "We're moving to France!"

Lila's mind had already begun spinning her first lies.


End file.
